A Wolf To Protect Me
by wildwolf007
Summary: "My parents went on vacation and never came back. We went to Savannah to find them, but they were already dead. That's when my friend Lee died. I was so alone, but then this... man found me and took care of me. He taught me how to be a good person, and how to be strong. His name is Bigby. He taught me how to survive." A series of one shots about Bigby and Clem. Set during TWD S2
1. The meeting

Clementine shivered. It was so cold and she was in wet clothes... Somewhere. And what was the worst: she was alone. She didn't like it. What happened to Christa? She just remembered that after she had told the woman to run and escaped from one of the scavengers, she fell into a river. Then, she woke up, alone and helpless.

She spotted a gun lying a few meters away. It was _her_ gun, but that didn't matter at all. She wasn't so helpless now. She picked it up and checked the magazine. There were still four bullets inside it. She smiled for a moment until she heard a loud crack coming from somewhere on her left...  
>_<p>

"Shit..." Bigby cursed under his breath when he stomped on a stick. The crack was loud enough to draw the attention of the dead if there were some nearby.

"Don't move!" He heard a voice from behind him. Bigby was on his own for so long that at the beginning he thought that he was just imagining things. But there it was again: "Don't move, or I'll shoot!" Slowly, Bigby turned around with his arms raised. But what he saw made him glance in shock. It was just a little girl, maybe 10 mundy years old. She had pretty amber eyes and short, curly brown hair... And she was holding a gun aimed at him.

"Hey, easy." Bigby slowly said in calming voice. "It's okay. I'm okay." The girl's expression changed when she saw that he meant no harm. She didn't put the gun down, though. She just stood there, like she was deciding what to do with him. Of course, Bigby could disarm her in mere seconds, but he didn't want to scare her. Even if she was a tough one, she was still just a kid.

"Who are you?" He asked, trying to begin a conversation. The girl just huffed.

"I don't know you." She reminded him. "Why should I trust you?"

"Are you alone?" Bigby changed the subject. The girl frowned.

"I... I used to be with a group." She finally said. Bigby looked at her as if he wanted to ask 'where are they?'. The girl sadly added "They're dead."

Bigby didn't know what to say. Heck, he was never good with children. And having a **group** meant that there were more than five people, at least. And the way she said it... like they were important for her... Bigby suddenly realized that he wasn't the only one who've lost his friends.

"I'm alone, too." He said. The girl lowered her gun.

"I'm Clementine." She said.

"Well, Clementine, how old are you?" He asked, curious of the little girl.

"I'm eleven." She replied simply. "What's _your_ name?"

"It's Bigby." He replied. The girl looked at him.

"I've never met anyone named Bigby before." She noticed. Bigby smiled, not even slightly surprised.

"It's a... pretty rare name." He admitted. Then he looked at Clementine. The girl looked like she haven't eaten anything for days.

"It's getting dark." Bigby said causally. "How about we find a good place for a camp?"

"Fire draws walkers." The girl said. Walkers? That's how she called them? Bigby usually called them just zombies, or fuckers when he was in a bad mood.

"Don't you worry." He reassured her. "They won't come anywhere near me. You should be safe."  
>Clementine looked at him as if he was completely crazy. He rolled his eyes. Of course, the girl didn't know who he was. And if he told her, she probably wouldn't believe him.<p>

"Just believe me when I say that every intelligent creature would keep miles away from me. He said.

"Of course." Clementine replied. Clearly she still didn't believe him. "I can take care of myself" She adjusted the gun tied to her pants. "so I guess I'll get going now." She said and slowly turned. Bigby realized that she wanted to get away from him. She thought that he was just some stupid Mundy who thought that he was invincible or something. Usually, he wouldn't care much about something like it, but he was alone for months now, and he couldn't stand it anymore. _I guess that even a big bad wolf sometimes needs friends..._ He thought as he grabbed the girl by her arm.

"Don't go."


	2. Memories

**I want to thank all of the people who reviewed the story, because without you I think that I wouldn't actually find the courage to write a next chapter. **

**And, to ZenakuOkami, I'm not going to put more characters from TWAU in this story. It will be mainly just Bigby and Clem… for two – three chapters, at least. I want this story to follow the events of Season 2 of TWD, but with the change of Clementine meeting Bigby instead of the cabin group.**

**Once again, thank you all guys. I would never expect so many people interested in this story. You are great!**

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><p>"So... How does it feel to have a tail?" Clementine asked and looked at Bigby who was walking beside her. He shifted the backpack on his back.<p>

"Well... Just believe me that it feels terrible to_don't_ have one." He smirked. Clementine smiled lightly. Then, she looked at the road that was ahead of them and sighed.

"We are going to walk like this for months until we get to Wellington." She noticed. They were on the road for five days by then, and she could easily tell that they were running low on supplies. Even though Bigby had told her that he doesn't need to eat anything, she knew that he was starving. He only wanted to save the food for her. In that thing, he reminded her of Lee. This thought, of course, made her frown. Lee. How long it was since he died? She was with Christa for at least sixteen months, and she spent one week with Bigby by now. Bigby. This man was puzzling her. Actually, should she call him a man? He had told her his story. Of course, she didn't believe him. The Big Bad Wolf from the tale of Red Riding Hood? That really did not sound believable. Of course, Clem had to change her mind when he had shown her his 'True Form', as he called it. She still couldn't quite wrap her head around this whole forms thing, but she figured that when he looked, well, _normal_, he was in his human form. And when he looked like a wolf (if there's even something such as an eight-foot-tall wolf in nature) he was in his true form.  
>Clementine preferred the human form.<p>

Then, she noticed that Bigby was saying something. This made her snap out of her thoughts.

"Sorry, did you say anything?" She asked.

"I just asked what do you expect to find there. I mean Wellington. What even is this Wellington?"

"I- I don't know." Clem admitted. She shivered. It was getting cold, but she didn't even have a jacket to cover herself with. She didn't even mention Bigby who was only in his short-sleeved shirt. He must've been freezing, even though he never once complained. "Christa, the woman that I was with before, had told me that it is a survival camp in the north. The walkers can't get there because of the cold."

"And what if it's not there?" He asked. "What if we go to that 'Wellington' of yours only to find that it never existed?"

"I… don't know." She repeated. She didn't even think of that possibility. But then, her expression turned into a more determined one. "One way to find out."

"Maybe." He commented, but she didn't answer. She looked at him. What she did see was a man who really cared about her. He truly wanted her to be safe. She had met someone like him before. But it was a sad memory. Only one of the people who she lost along the way. She found herself counting them. The people who died to make sure she was safe.

There was that woman, Carley. Clementine didn't know her long, but she seemed nice. Then there was Mark, who was killed by those crazy cannibals. Lily's dad, Larry was killed by Kenny and Lee, but that was because they didn't want for him to become a walker. Then, Lily killed Doug. And Lee told her to stay behind, so she probably died too. But she was a murderer. Katjaa and Duck were different: they were good people, Kenny's family. Duck was Clementine's only friend during the apocalypse. Kenny and Ben… They never came. Lee said that they were dead, too. And then, Lee. He was bitten. And she… She had to just leave him there! It was the worst moment in her life. Then there was Omid. And… Christa.

=======ooO***Ooo=======

Bigby found himself counting all the people who died during the last several months. It was definitely not a good thing. It made him think about… _her._ But it was a sad memory. Only one of the people who he had lost along the way.

And he lost much more than any of those people out there… If there were any. He had lost his mother, and his brothers, and all of his friends… Oh, well. He never had any friends. There were only people who didn't think of him as of a heartless monster. But no friends. His destiny was to be lonely. An outcast. The different one. A wolf among the sheep.

But then, there was she. The only one who would say something nice to him, or even give a smile when it was needed. She was always kind. And now, she was gone. Dead. She was dead. _Snow_ was dead.

And there was nothing he could do about it.

He found himself staring at the girl who was walking by his side. He felt protective of her, like it was a thing that he should do. But it was just then when he realized why he felt this way towards her.

"You remind me of some-"

"You remind me of some-"

They spoke in unison. Bigby felt some kind of sad _déjà vu _when he quickly added:

"Go ahead, I…" He frowned. "I didn't mean to cut you off."

"It's okay." Clementine replied, looking down. "It's just that… you remind me of a friend of mine. He was very dear for me."

Bigby caught the sadness in her voice when she said the word 'was'. This friend of hers… He was dead, that was obvious for Bigby. But then again, _she_ reminded _him_ of his dead friend. But… why? She was so young… Very young. It was just a child, and he was never good with children. She seemed to notice his hesitancy for answering as she spoke up:

"You don't have to treat me like this. Everyone underestimates me."

"No… It's just that you're so young." _Even for a Mundy_, he added in his mind. "And… you actually remind me of a friend of mine as well."

Clementine didn't respond as she sighed and looked somewhere into the horizon. Bigby decided to break the silence once more. He just wanted to know more about her.

"So… What happened to your parents?" He asked. She gave him a look. "If you don't mind me asking."

"No, it's okay." She sighed. "My parents went on vacation and left me with a babysitter. They never came back. We went to Savannah to find them," She frowned like she was reliving a sad memory. "but they were already dead."

"I'm sorry." He rubbed his chin. "Looks like it ain't been easy on you."

"Back then, when it all started… I wasn't alone, you know." He knew. Of course she wasn't. And he felt like he knew what she was about to say. This was about her friend, he knew it.

"His name was Lee. He's the reason I'm alive."

"What, uh, happened to him?" Bigby asked, even though he felt like he knew the answer.

"The same thing that happens to everyone." Came the reply. _The same thing that happened to Snow…_ "He died to protect me." Her eyes slowly filled with tears. "He got bit, and I… I had to- I had to-" She began to cry. What, obviously, wasn't easy for Bigby to take. He was never good with this whole emotional stuff, and he didn't know what to do, or how to comfort her. He gently touched her arm.

"I'm sorry." He repeated. "I… shouldn't have asked."

"No, it's- It's nothing." She wiped the tears away, sniffing. "You couldn't have known.  
>You can tell me about your friend. It can be helpful… To say what's on your mind. You know, tell someone. So it doesn't feel like a secret."<p>

"She…" He began, sadness in his brown eyes. "Her name is- Her name was Snow White and she was the best woman in the world."


	3. Nightmares, part 1

**Gosh, I'm _so_ sorry for the absurdly long wait. I sure hope that at least some of you still want to read this thing. I know that this chapter isn't the longest, or the best, but I've had it written for quite a few days by now and I didn't exactly want to change anything.**

**The next chapter: Kenny!**

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><p><em>Fire.<em>

_All that he knew was the fact that it burned with flaming pain. He couldn't get away from it, from the pain conquering his body, because it hurt too much. The pain was uncontrollable, that was one thing that it's taught him._  
><em>You can't fight with the fire.<em>

_His heart hurt much more than any other part of his body, having experienced so much death. It wasn't the regular violence he would see everyday, nor was it the burning pain in his chest. No. Death felt different, almost numb._

_He couldn't bring himself to make it stop, reliving it over and over._

_"Bigby!" Another scream filled the air. Ignoring all the pain, he rushed to the source of the voice._

_Snow needed him._

_He runned. Down on all his fours, not even noticing the moment when his feet turned into paws, fur growing onto the whole of his body. He runned, holding onto the hope that he wouldn't be too late. He couldn't bear it. He didn't even as much as begin to grow tired, yet the running took its toll on him. It felt like he's been running for forever, the same monotony repeating over and over in his head: breath, step, breath, step, breath, step._

_At that point he couldn't even remember whether it's been seconds, minutes or days since he began running. He just knew that he couldn't stop. His legs felt sore, and he had to fight the urge to stop for a moment. It wouldn't be for long, just a moment to catch his breath... No. He wouldn't._

_Another inhuman groan filled the air, followed by a female scream._

_He roared, ruuning into the small cabin and tearing half of the wall apart in the process._  
><em>He looked around, growling, just in time to see Snow holding an axe and being attacked by a group of zombies. She stood her ground bravely, but it was clear that she didn't stand a chance against her attackers. Her eyes lit up when she saw him enter. She opened her mouth to say something, but another one grabbed her.<em>

_He was too late._

_The realization hit him even before it was too late._

_He jumped, lunging at the zombies with an angry look on his snout._

_He was too late._

_"No!" He screamed, roaring in agony as he watched one of the zombies bite into Snow's neck._

"No!" Bigby gasped for breath, jolting awake. Beside him, Clementine laid peacefully in her sleep. The campfire was beginning to die, slowly becoming just one more part of the darkness around them.

Bigby ran his hand through his hair, sighing. It was just another nightmare. Nothing to be afraid of.

The nightmares've been following him ever since _that_ day and, while it would be predictable, he still couldn't get used to them. They weren't just about Snow's death, and it was the worst part.  
>He would relive the most terrible of his memories, and sometimes not even know that it's not for real. He still remembered that day when he had a dream about Red Riding Hood. It was from that part of his life he certainly didn't want to remember.<p>

Sighing, he slowly shook his head. It wasn't healthy, to mourn like that.

He looked at the dying campfire. He would probably have to go for more wood eventually. Might as well do it now.

While seeking for more relatively dry twigs and trying to stay relatively close to the camp, Bigby thought about what should they do in the nearest future. Clementine wanted to get to this Wellington in order to find out whether her friend Christa was there. Bigby was skeptical. He didn't want to get his - or worse, **hers** - hopes up only to find nothing there. He wouldn't make that mistake again. No. Not anymore.

He was going to make sure that Clementine would get as happy of a life as he could possibly get her.

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><p>"You don't know hot to shoot a gun?"<p>

Bigby looked down. He didn't exactly want to look weak in they eyes of an _eight years old_, but he just slipped during a conversation.

"I never really had the time to learn." He answered. Clementine looked at him sincerely.

"Then I guess you wouldn't mind taking a lesson?" She offered as kindly as she could.

"Yeah, thank you. It would come in handy sometime." He almost smiled. "How does tonight sound?" He joked casually, earning a little smile from Clem.  
>They were silent for a while, simply walking.<p>

"What's that?" Clementine suddenly asked, making Bigby look up at the road before them. There was something in the distance, but he couldn't place it just yet.

"I don't know. It looks like..." He narrowed his eyes, trying to get a better view, "a bridge?"

"I don't know. We have to get there in order to know for sure."

"Right. So there we go."


End file.
